CEPHTAZBIME

[ALDABRAMAN]

I have a friend out of state that has many aldabras and one of his new males has a respitory infection/illness. His vet prescribed CEPHTAZBIME by Vortaz for treatment. Has anyone heard or used this for tortoises before. He was told that it has no effects on the kidneys. Thanks to all, Greg.

 

[Laura]

i google it and get nada.. Zip nothing...sure its spelling right?

 

[zzzdanz]

That's a new 1 to me...The Doc will know, maybe shoot him a e-mail

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Is it Ceftazidime?..That's Fortaz

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

i google it and get nada.. Zip nothing...sure its spelling right?

That is the spelling he read off to me, ?.

 

[Yvonne G]

If I'm not mistaken its called Ceftazidime.

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Here's what Melissa Kaplan wrote up about the different drugs:

http://www.anapsid.org/resources/rxdose.html

 

[Laura]

Fortaz (ceftazidime) 20 mg/kg SQ/IM q 72h * † This is a 3rd generation cephalosporin (newer than Baytril)used parenterally for gram-negative infections, and is particularly, useful in reptiles.

May cause pain on IM injection; SC injection probably less painful. Is kept in freezer and must be brought to room temperature before injecting.

May cause hypersensitivity reactions, diarrhea, granulocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, mild azotemia. May need to reduce dose in renal failure; use with caution

 

[exoticsdr]

Great choice for repiratory infections, like cefazolin, a 3rd gen cephalosporin...really works well for suspected or confirmed Pseudomonas infection and has the added benefit of acting synergistically with Gentamycin and Amikacin in these cases. Hurray for your vet for thinking outside the box.

Now a veterinary lesson:

without Googling it: who knows what diarrhea is? (trick question, to be sure), granulocytopenia? thrombocytopenia? azotemia?

Please don't think I'm picking on anybody, if you came to me and gave me your hard-earned money so I could examine your tortoise and if mentioned these conditions, I would ask you the same questions.

 

[Laura]

dont pick on me.. i cut and pasted that so it was easier to find in what yvonne posted..

 

[exoticsdr]

dont pick on me.. i cut and pasted that so it was easier to find in what yvonne posted..

I would NEVER think to pick on someone with so many posts....hahaha.
It was a good post....I really do tend to pick on my clients, if they are not laughing when they leave my office I somehow don't feel I've done my job.

 

[Laura]

you have a bigger reputation then i do... I know it isnt the same as in High School.. but... HA!

oh and to keep on topic...

So this drug is better then Baytril for lots of stuff?

 

[exoticsdr]

you have a bigger reputation then i do... I know it isnt the same as in High School.. but... HA!

oh and to keep on topic...

So this drug is better then Baytril for lots of stuff?

When you talk about "better" there are many considerations to take into account, let's say it is an "alternative" to Baytril in THIS case.....but Baytril is still a GREAT antibiotic in spite of what you might hear.

As a veterinarian, I have to not only take into account the condition of my patient but also the client....are they going to be able to follow directions for meds? Many of the cephalosporins are only good for about 24-48 hours after being reconstituted, so the client may be required to reconstitute several bottles during the course of a 3 week treatment (just an example). You also have to determine what is going to be most cost effective, in an Aldabra tort the whole bottle may be used, but in a pancake only oneor two one hundredths of the bottle may be used before it must be discarded. Given that Baytril is already mixed and stable, it might be the better and most cost effective choice.

Hope this doesn't confuse anyone too much. It's all a matter of degrees and what fits any given situation.

doc

 

[Yvonne G]

I think "thrombo.." has to do with blood cells.

My horse used to freeze up (azoturia) and it was because of too much protein in her blood and urine, so maybe azotemia has something to do with that?

Ok, I'll bite...diarrhea = loose watery stools?

 

[exoticsdr]

I think "thrombo.." has to do with blood cells.

My horse used to freeze up (azoturia) and it was because of too much protein in her blood and urine, so maybe azotemia has something to do with that?

Ok, I'll bite...diarrhea = loose watery stools?

Yvonne, always the brave one! haha

Diarrhea...loose, watery stools....but why? trick question, sometimes good? sometimes bad...big debate here..haha

thrombocytopenia-- -whenever you see -penia it means a lack of or less than normal

thrombocytes = platelets----a decrease in platelets so blood will have trouble clotting

granulocytopenia- you already know the -penia part...granulocytes are a "class" of white blood cells which include neutrophils (the component of pus, they eat and kill bacteria and cells infected with bacteria), eosinophils (a cell that elevates with and fights paraisitic infections and allergies and basophils (I've yet to figure out what they do in mammals because I can't say I've ever seen one outside of a book, but in birds and reptiles they act like neutrophils and sometimes as eosinophils). Anyway, there is a shortage of these cells.

Azotemia- increase of nitrogenous wastes (protein breakdown) in the blood stream because of some problem with the renal system, can be pre-renal (dehydration), post-renal (ureteral or urethral blockage) or renal (kidney problem).

 

[dmmj]

Not to argue but I personally can't think of any case where diarrhea would be good?

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Ok maybe I wanted to argue a little bit.

 

[John]

you have a bigger reputation then i do... I know it isnt the same as in High School.. but... HA!

oh and to keep on topic...

So this drug is better then Baytril for lots of stuff?

When you talk about "better" there are many considerations to take into account, let's say it is an "alternative" to Baytril in THIS case.....but Baytril is still a GREAT antibiotic in spite of what you might hear.

As a veterinarian, I have to not only take into account the condition of my patient but also the client....are they going to be able to follow directions for meds? Many of the cephalosporins are only good for about 24-48 hours after being reconstituted, so the client may be required to reconstitute several bottles during the course of a 3 week treatment (just an example). You also have to determine what is going to be most cost effective, in an Aldabra tort the whole bottle may be used, but in a pancake only oneor two one hundredths of the bottle may be used before it must be discarded. Given that Baytril is already mixed and stable, it might be the better and most cost effective choice.

Hope this doesn't confuse anyone too much. It's all a matter of degrees and what fits any given situation.

doc

this is the best answer ive seen too a drug related question.it is exactly the type of info that should go on a health an illness forum.not so someone can say doc todd said or yvonne said.but the explaination of why a vet may choose too treat a certain way,i think can help people too interact with their vet.i see people making decisions or giving advice based on things like injections hurting the tort,"so give it orally".if the med was dosed out for injection is that still the right dose for oral feed,how less or more effective will it be.if you could just give it orally why would you opt for injections too begin with,why aren't the people in these situations asking these questions? sorry i got off topic

 

[exoticsdr]

Not to argue but I personally can't think of any case where diarrhea would be good?

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Ok maybe I wanted to argue a little bit.

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That's why I put the question mark in there...and you are correct, a true case of diarrhea is never good.

I was actually hoping for someone to jump on that one. I find that many get diarrhea confused with loose stools that can actually be a completely normal conditon based on food choices.

It's like the old "pumpkin" discussions. Is it really an antiparasitic? or is it just an osmotic that causes loose stools and helps get rid of intestinal parasites more efficiently than a normal stool.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

[HLogic]

Diarrhea as a good thing: A systemic response attempting to dilute/evacuate toxins or toxinogenic agents (e.g. salmonellosis).

Diarrhea as a bad thing: Prolonged diarrhea 'as a good thing' resulting from GI flora imbalance leading to tonicity problems and dehydration (e.g. treating salmonellosis with cephalexin (Keflex) for an extended regimen).

These are simplified examples only and not necessarily specific to a particular species/situation.

Back on topic...

Cephtazidime is apparently more frequently used in lieu of enrofloxacin (Baytril) in an attempt to thwart resistance now being seen in certain gram negative bacteria.